Electric signal for elevators.



PATENTED FEB. 25, 1908.

C. E. MOORE.

ELECTRIC SIGNAL FOR ELEVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.7,1906.

CHARLES E. MOORE, 'OFLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

ELECTRIC SIGNAL FOR ELEVATORS.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Febv 1.35, 1908.

Application filed March '7. 1906. Serial No. 304.793.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. MOORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric Signals for Elevators, of which the following is a speci fication.

' My invention relates to signals displayed in an elevator cage; and the object thereof is i to provide an efiicient signal which will disclose to the operator in charge of the cage as soon as a passenger on a floor desires to go up or down from such floor and, operates the signal button at that floor the direction the passenger desires to travel and the floor on which he is located. I accomplish this ob ject by the mechanism described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in Which:

Figure 1.is a diagrammatic view of my signaling apparatus. Figs. 1 2 and 3. are details of a portion of the color changing mechanism. Fig. 4.is an enlarged detail of a switch used in my apparatus. Fig. 5. is a front view of the signal box in the elevator cage.

In the drawings 6' is the elevator shaft of usual construction and 7. is the elevator cage which is moved therein in the usual mariner by any appropriate mechanism. In the elevator cage and in plain View of the operator who has control of the cage is the signal box 8" which is provided with as many sight apertures 9 as there are floors in the building at which the elevator is requiredtojstop. These sight a ertures are numberedto correspond to the oors of the building.

In Fig. 5 I have shown the box as applied to a building containing four floors with the sight apertures numbered from one to four. These sight apertures are protected by uncolored glass, preferably ground or, frosted glass. Behind these apertures and clearly visible therethrough is a source of artificial light, preferably an electric light 10 which is supplied by wires ll'with electrical energy from a source of supply, not shown.

At each side of the sight apertures are magnets, preferably solenoid magnets 12 and 13. line 14 to a source of electricalenergy, which I have shown as battery 15, but where there One pole of magnet .12 is connected by is an electrical plant, to supply electrical energy I prefer to obtain my electrical energy from'such plant. Plunger 16 is connected'to lever 17 which lever is pivoted at ,18 to the casing of the solenoid. The free end of this lever carries a transparent colored disk 19,,which when the magnet 12 is inert lies below and is not visible through the sight aperture. The other side of the battery 15 is connected by line 20 to contact 21 of switch 22. contact 23 which is connected by line 24 with the other pole of solenoid 12. Switch 22 is provided with an electro-magnet 25 which is provided with an armature-26 that is pivoted at 27- to bar 28 secured to the base of theswitch. The free end of the armature 26 is provided with a V-shaped contact strip 29 which is insulated from the armature by insulation 30. Contact strip 29 is adapted to engage the contacts 21 and 23, as shown in Fig. 4, whenever magnet 25 is energized and draws armature 26 within its magnetic field. One pole of electromagnet 25 is connected by line 31 from contact 31 to the ush button switch 32. The other side of t is switch is connected by line 33 to one side of battery 34, the other side of battery 34 is connected by line 35 with the other pole of magnet 25.

Push button switch 32' we will say is for the purpose of signaling when a'passenger de.-

sires to go up in the elevator cage. Just Switch 22 is provided with a below switch 32 is a similar switch 36, one

side of which is connected by line 37 to one pole of an electro-magnet similar in construction to electro-magnet. 25, carried by switch 38. The other side of switch 36 is connected to line 33, and line 35 is also electrically connected to the other sideof the electro-magnet carried. by switch 38.

Plunger 39 of the solenoid-magnet 13 is operatively connected to lever 40 which is p voted at 41 to the casing of the magnet.

he free end of this lever carries a transparent colored disk 42, which when the magnet is inert lies below and is not visib e through the sight aperture, but when the magnet 13 is energized is brought before the sight aperture asshown in Fig. 2 and thereby produces a colored light at the sight a erture in the signal 'boX. One side of the so enoid 13 is connected to line 14 and the" other side is connected by line 43 to contact 44 of switch 38. .connected to line 20.

mentary to switch 22 and is provided with in switch 22.

Contact 45 of switch 38 is Switch .38 is comple like parts, which with the exception of con.- tacts 37 44, and 45 will be referred to by the use of the samenumerals as are indicated on switch 22. 'Wire 35 runs to binding post 35 of switch 38 from which. it branches running to magnet 55 and to the corres onding parts of switch 22. Wire 37 runs to indmg 0st 37 from which it runs to magnet 25.,

which causes the armature of the electromagnet carried thereby to connect contacts armature from the contacts when the electro- 44 and 45 in the same manner. that contacts 21 and 23 are connectedin Fi 4. As soon as contact is made the free em of the armature passes below a hook 46 which is carried on the end of armature 47 which is pivoted at 48 to a bar 49 secured to the base of the switch. [This hook prevents the disengagement of the contact strip carried by the magnet becomes inert, which will occur as soon as the person removes pressure from switch '36, thereby breaking the circuit to ascend.

through the magnet. As soon as these contacts are connected the circuit through the solenoid magnet 13 is established and the colored disk 42 is thrown before the sight aperture. Now if a passenger on the same floor should desire to go in the other direction he would push switch32 which would close the circuit through the electro-magnet carried by switch 22 whlch would close the circuit through solenoid 12, thereby energizing it and causing it to bring the colored disk 19 before the sight a erture in the signal box for that floor. Co ored disks 19 and 42 are of different colors. We Willsay that disk 42 is blueand disk 19 is red. Now when a red disk appears before the sight aperture it will indicate to the operator in'the elevator cage that a erson on the third floor desires the sight aperture it will indicate t at a person on that floor desires to "decend As one arebrought before the sight aperture at the same time the color will'be p u r le which will indicate to the operator that there are persons on that floor some ofwhom desire to as-' cend'and someto descend. Whentheoperator gets to the third floor he opens the door 50. Secured to the top of the door is a spring f a blue disk is brou ht before is red and the o'ther is blue when both disks contact 52 which is insulated from contact 51. Contact51 is connected by line 53 to line 33,

and contact 52 is connected by line 54 to one pole of the electro-magnet 55 of switches 22- and 38. As the door is being opened spring contact 51 is brought into engagement with a bar 56 which causes contact 51 to. engage contact 52 thereby closing the circuit and energizing magnets 55, switches 22 and 38. Each magnet then attracts its armature 47 and causes the disenga'gement of hook 46 from armature 26, if

at that time engaged,- which last armature is then thrown downwardly by s ring 57 and contact strip 29 is withdrawn 'rom engagement with contacts 21 and 23 or 44 and 45 thereby breaking the. circuit through the solenoid magnet which then becomes inert and the colored disks fall from in front of the sight a ertures. If the operator cannot carry al the passengers which are .on that floor, or if there are passengers to go up and down, and he is going down he operates a push switch 59 in the cage to notify the operators in the other cagesthat there are passengers to'go up on that floor. Push switch 58 is connected up the same as push switch .36. A push switch 59 also located in the cage is connected up the same as push switch 32 so that the operator when going up and taking passengers from the floor can notify operators in other cages that there are more assengers on: that'floor desiring to go up.

here are a pair of such switches for each floor. Where there are a number of elevators in a building it will be understood that the. signal boxes in each elevator cage has the same. connection to switches 22 and 38 that lot are herein described, and that each elevator cage has a signal box of the same character as that described herein and that in each case there are push buttons similar to push hut-.

tons 58 and 59 for each floor and connected up in the same-manner.

By this construction it will be seen that ,where there are a number ofelevators, the

operators in each cage are immediately notified of 'the desire of passengers on the different floors to go up or down at the same time,

and that they can therefore regulate the s eed'of their cars tostop at a floor or pass it,

epending upon whether a colored or a clear. 11 t 'is shown in the signal box for thefioor w ich the cage is about to reach, and that no matter how tall the building may be nor at What part of the same the elevator cage may be, the operator in each cpge knows at .what floors passengers desire I o be moved from and what floors are clear from passengers. .,It'will be seen that by using dlflerent colors to indicate the desire of passengers to go up and down that when there are passengers on the same floor that desire to 0 up contact 51 and just above contact 51 is a 1 and down that the throwing of the dierent disks before the sight aperture at the same time a diiferent-color is produced at the sight aperture than is reduced when a single colored disk is used thus red and blue produce a purple, yellow and blue produce a green, and the combination of other colors produce still different effects.

" A reflector 60 may be used to concentrate the light on the sight apertures.

Having described my invention what 1- any aperture may both appear before said aperture at the same time when the magnets are energized; a switch; a source'of electrical energy; a connection from one pole of one of said magnets to said switch; a connection from said switch to said source of energy; and a connection from said source of energy to the'other'pole of said magnet; mechanism to hold said disks when brought before the apertures; and mechanism to release said holding mechanism.

2. A signal device for elevators comprising a'signal box in the elevator cage having sight apertures therein,'there being a sight aperture for each floor'of the building; an artifi ciallight in said signal box back of said aper-' tures; twb colored transparent disks adjacent to each of said apertures, said disks being of" different colors and normally not in view. through said apertures; electrical mechan-.

ism operatively connected to said disks for separately moving said disks before said sight a ertures when energized, whereby both dis sat any aperture may both appear before said a erture at the same time; mechanism at eac floor for closing circuits whereby said electrical mechanisrn 'is energized; and mechanism fordenergizing said electrical mechanisin upon-the opening of the,

elevator door.

. 3. A signal device for elevators compris ing a signal box in the elevator cage having sight apertures therein, there being a sight aperture for each floor of the building; an

artificial light in said signal box back of said apertures; two colored transparent disks adjacent to each of said apertures, said disks being of different colors and normally not in view throughsaid apertures; electrical mechanism for separately moving said disks before said sight apertures when energized, wherebyboth disks at any aperture may both appear before said aperture at the same time; means for rendering, and holding said electrical mechanism energized; and means for releasing said holding means.

4:. A signaling system for elevators comprising a plurality of sets of electrically operated chromatic signal devices, each set comprising signal devices of different color arranged to display their distinctive colors when operated separately and to display a blended color when operated conjointly; and corresponding sets of circuit controlling devices at different landings and circuit connections for controllingthe respective signal devices of each set from the corresponding circuit controlling devices.

5. In'an electric signal system for elevator cars, illuminating means; a plurality of sets of signal devices in the elevator car, each set comprising two transparent color screens means movable separately into position in front of the illuminating means, the color screen means of the two signal devices of each set being of different color; electromagnetic means for operating thesaid signal devices of each set, separate y or conjointly,

to display the distinctive color ofeach screen I or the blended color of both screens; and a corresponding plurality of sets of switch devices at different landings of the elevator shaft, each set comprising two switch de-' vices, connected to operate the respective electromagnetic signal operating means of the corresponding. set of signal devices.

6. A signal system for elevators comprising a plurality of sets of electrically operated signal devices in the elevator car, each set comprising two signal devices of .difierent colors fo'r'up and down signals; illuminating means for illuminating said signaling de' vices when operated to display the color of each singly or to displaya blended color when both are operated simultaneously; a correspondin pluralit of sets of push buttons at the ifl'erent andings connected to the electric operating means for the respective signal devices, one push button of each set being connected to operate one of the sigto operate the other signal device in the corresponding set; means for retaining the operated signal device circuits in operative condition; and means for restoring the said circuits to normal condition.

7. A signal system'for elevators comprising a plurality of sets of electrically operated signal devices in the elevator car, each'set comprising two signal devices of different colors forup and down signals, illuminating means for illuminatin said signal devices when operated to disp ay the color of each sin 1y or to display a blended color when bot are operated simultaneously; a correnal' devices in the corresponding set and the other push button of each set being connected sponding plurality of sets of push buttons at I circuit in closed condition; and means for '10 the dilierent landings connected to the elecl opening said circuit. v v

tric operating means for the respective signal 9 In witness that I claim the foregoing, I devices, one push button in each set being 1 have hereunto subscribed my namethis 1st. connected to operate one of the signal devices .l day of March, 190.6.-

in the corresponding set-and the other push l CHARLES E. MOORE. button of each set being connected to operate 1 Witnesses:

the other signal device in the correspondin G. E. HARPHAM,

set; and means for maintaining the operated EDMUND A. STRAUSE. 

